Five Kids and Two Speedy Parents Set Separate Stroller World Records

On October 30, the running world saw one stroller record broken and another stroller record set. The best part? These records weren’t for your standard single stroller.

While Chris Solarz pushed his double stroller across the Suffolk County Half Marathon finish line in Long Island, New York, Suzy Goodwin one-upped him with her triple stroller at the North Carolina Halloween Half Marathon in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

It was the eighth world record for Solarz and the first for Goodwin, but both parents couldn’t be happier with how things turned out. Here’s the reason they each wanted to enter the record books with their children by their side.

Suzy Goodwin

The North Carolina Halloween Half Marathon seemed like a blur to Suzy Goodwin. That might be because she pushed her 14-month-old triplets—Charlotte, Gabriel, and Gideon—in a triple stroller in 2:01:19, setting a new category—and high mark—in the Guinness Book of World Records.

“I have been in contact with the Guinness Book of World Records since June, and 13.1 miles while pushing a triple stroller is the minimum distance that they will accept,” Goodwin told Runner’s World. “So we set this category, which also gave me somewhat of a buffer with the time.”

Goodwin’s goal was to keep it right around two hours, saying any longer would be unfair to her children. But how, exactly, do three children just over a year old stay occupied for that amount of time while Goodwin pushes them in a three-and-a-half-foot-wide stroller that weighs around 100 pounds when they are in it? Goodwin’s secret is blocks, little maracas to shake, and crackers.

There were some bumps in the road, like when Goodwin had to stop to reprimand Charlotte for stealing her brothers’ crackers and to change Gabriel’s diaper.

“There are mothers out there who are faster than me,” Goodwin said. “I guarantee you that this record, now that it’s set, is going to get broken.

“But I will say I had an advantage in being their mother because I know what the ‘I’m uncomfortable’ cry sounds like, and so if I just handed my triple stroller to a faster runner, they might not know what that cry sounds like.”

Goodwin is thankful that, for the most part, the triplets enjoy being in the stroller during her runs. “They have an older brother who just turned 3, and if you’re a runner who has a baby, running becomes something different,” she said. “And it’s something that I really loved sharing with my son, and now I’m able to share it with the triplets.”

The triplets were born prematurely and spent the first 10 weeks of their lives in Cape Fear Valley Health’s NICU. Since the race happened to fall right around the anniversary of their homecoming, Goodwin wanted to run in the hospital’s honor.

“They have the day they were born, the day you got to bring them home from the hospital, and the one-year anniversary,” Goodwin explained. “[Those days are] a really big deal to anyone who has had a child in the NICU.” So far, she’s raised about $1,000 and counting for Cape Fear Valley Health.

Chris Solarz

Loaded with 4-year-old Sebastien and 2-year-old Sophie, the jogging stroller that Chris Solarz pushes weighs about 75 pounds. On most weekends, he runs with it five to six miles from his New York City home to a nearby park for a midrun playground break.

But last Sunday, the three-wheeled contraption holding the toddlers hurtled at a 5:57 per-mile pace during the Suffolk Country Half Marathon to set a world record for fastest half marathon while pushing a two-person stroller. Solarz and his kids finished fourth overall in 1:18:08.

“It’s a nice, satisfactory feeling when you plan something and it turns out better than expected,” Solarz told Runner’s World two days after the race.

The 38-year-old hedge fund analyst is a Guinness World Record veteran. Sunday’s performance marked his eighth running-related world record. His first was set in 2009, when he became the fastest person to navigate NYC’s 468-stop subway system. He sprinted through 55 transfer stations to complete the task in 22 hours and 52 minutes. Over the next seven years, he’s visited the most pubs in 24 hours (250), run the most miles on a treadmill in 12 hours (77), and run the fastest marathon as a linked team of five (2:53:24), among other achievements.

Sunday’s half marathon effort is still pending verification, but once it becomes official, the time will beat the previous mark by nearly eight minutes.

“Sophie slept most of the way,” Solarz said. “But Sebastien was feeding off the energy the whole way.” A local newspaper wrote about the trio ahead of the race, so Solarz said many spectators recognized them by name.

“It was kind of amazing and it was a special feeling,” he said. “I have done more than 500 races all over the world and never been the star of the race before.”

He’s now started to search for three-person jogging strollers to accommodate the latest addition to the family, 3-month old Genevieve.

“Yeah, I probably will go after that record too,” he said with a chuckle.

Kit FoxSpecial Projects EditorKit has been a health, fitness, and running journalist for the past five years.

Danielle ZicklAssociate Health & Fitness EditorDanielle specializes in interpreting and reporting the latest health research and also writes and edits in-depth service pieces about fitness, training, and nutrition.

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